Prosecutors on Tuesday charged a Colton parolee in the slaying of an 83-year-old woman, one of two Rialto homicide cases investigators say were solved after months of gaining the trust of reluctant witnesses.

Bryan Roy Thomas, 28, also known as “Youngster”, was arrested Thursday morning by police and state parole agents in the death of Elizabeth Benson, Rialto police Lt. Joe Cirilo said.

“We’re confident we have the person responsible for the brutal death of Miss Benson,” Cirilo said.

Thomas is the third suspect in a Rialto homicide investigation to be charged by the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s Office in less than two weeks.

Keandre “Key-Ray” Windfield and Michael “White Chocolate” Canizales, both 20, were charged Aug. 11 with murder and attempted murder in the July 2008 killing of Leica Cooksey, 26, of Upland. Police say Cooksey, a college student, was visiting friends in Rialto in the 300 block of West Jackson Street when she was caught in the crossfire of a gang shooting.

Relatives from both families attended a press conference Tuesday at Rialto City Hall, where they had a chance to thank detectives who never gave up on either case.

Cindy Davis, Benson’s daughter, said she’s lived in fear knowing her mother’s killer remained on the loose.

“It’s been 14 months and I’m thrilled today,” she said.

Police said they suspected Thomas in the killing early in the investigation, but it wasn’t until they obtained enough information from witnesses that they were able to get him charged.

A neighbor found Benson brutally murdered in her home in the 500 block of East Huff Street the morning of June 19, 2009.

Investigators found evidence that Benson had struggled with her attacker. But Thomas, a 220-pound man who is 6-feet-2 inches tall, quickly overpowered Benson, who was about 4-feet-11 inches tall.